Streptococcus anginosus is a member of Streptococcus milleri group, and is found in the oral mucosa, respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal tract as normal flora. It can develop into a disease in patients with deteriorating clinical condition or with clinical risk factors. A previously healthy 15-year-old boy was admitted due to fever, abdominal discomfort and vomiting which lasted for 7 days. He had a history of dental procedure 1 day before the development of fever. He was diagnosed with acute acalculous cholecystitis based on the clinical, laboratory, and imaging finding, and S. anginosus was isolated from the blood culture. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotic therapy.
Acalculous Cholecystitis ; Adolescent ; Bacteremia ; Cholecystitis ; Fever ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Mouth Mucosa ; Respiratory System ; Risk Factors ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus anginosus ; Streptococcus milleri Group ; Vomiting

No abstract available.
Trophoblastic Neoplasms* ; Trophoblasts*

PURPOSE: The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) is a tool used to classify the severity and urgency of emergency department (ED) patients, focusing on their symptoms. In consideration of the importance of the KTAS, a web-based learning program has emerged as a new mode of education; it enables ED triage nurses to access it anytime and anywhere, and according to their own learning abilities. This study aimed to develop a web-based KTAS learning program and evaluate its effects on self-efficacy and triage performance ability in ED nurses. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest was used. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory. There were 30 participants in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The experimental group attended an orientation and 4 sessions of a web-based KTAS learning program. The learning program lasted 280 minutes over five weeks, consisting of 40 minutes of orientation and four 60-minute sessions. RESULTS: The scores of self-efficacy, triage performance ability in KTAS level, and chief complaints significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the numbers of under-triage in KTAS significantly decreased in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION The results suggest that the learning program was effective in improving ED nurses' level of self-efficacy and triage performance ability (KTAS level and KTAS chief complaint). Accordingly, the web-based KTAS learning program can be applied as an education intervention to improve ED nurses' triage skill.

PURPOSE: The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) is a tool used to classify the severity and urgency of emergency department (ED) patients, focusing on their symptoms. In consideration of the importance of the KTAS, a web-based learning program has emerged as a new mode of education; it enables ED triage nurses to access it anytime and anywhere, and according to their own learning abilities. This study aimed to develop a web-based KTAS learning program and evaluate its effects on self-efficacy and triage performance ability in ED nurses. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest was used. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory. There were 30 participants in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The experimental group attended an orientation and 4 sessions of a web-based KTAS learning program. The learning program lasted 280 minutes over five weeks, consisting of 40 minutes of orientation and four 60-minute sessions. RESULTS: The scores of self-efficacy, triage performance ability in KTAS level, and chief complaints significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the numbers of under-triage in KTAS significantly decreased in the experimental group in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the learning program was effective in improving ED nurses' level of self-efficacy and triage performance ability (KTAS level and KTAS chief complaint). Accordingly, the web-based KTAS learning program can be applied as an education intervention to improve ED nurses' triage skill.
Education ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Learning ; Self Efficacy ; Triage

In Korea, more than in most other countries, motions in hip and knee are extremely important because kneeling and squatting are conventional potures in the home and social activities. from this point of view, the preservation of mobility is a critical trial in the treatment of tubercuiosis of the knee joint. In 1974 we reported five cases of tuberculosis of the knee which were treated with preservation of the joint mobility. This is the report of another four cases of knee joint tuberculosis which were treated by synovectomy and curettage of the bony focus in an allempt to half the pathological process without sacrificing joint motion. All of the four cases have preserved their knee joint motion and have gained an average of 43.7 degrees of motion through joint exercise started five weeks post-operatively. Previously reported cases started their joint exercise eight weeks after operation and gained an average of only 26.7 degrees of motion. As chemotherapy provides more effectiveness in the treatment of joint tuberculosis, early joint motion postoperatively is important to gain more range of joint motion. In conclusion, tuberculosis of major weight bearing joints, notably the knee, may be successfully treated their joint motions preserved by surgical eradication of the lesion and chemotherapy.
Curettage ; Drug Therapy ; Hip ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee ; Korea ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular ; Weight-Bearing

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing nursing performance in caring for patients with delirium.METHODS: This study included 166 nurses who worked for more than 6 months at 4 general hospitals in Jeju Province, South Korea. Patients were administered a self-reported questionnaire. The study was carried out from May 20, 2014, to June 19, 2014. Data analyses were conducted using stepwise multiple regression, Pearson's correlation coefficients, t-test, and analysis of variance using the SAS WIN 9.2 program (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).RESULTS: The factors associated with nurses' performance in delirium care were work position (β=.22, t=2.58, p < .001) and having received education on delirium care (β=.16, t=2.24, p=.026).CONCLUSION: The results showed that the nurses' work position and having received education on delirium care affected nursing performance in delirium care. In order to improve nurses' performance in delirium care, hospitals should provide a delirium education program for nurses and establish standard guidelines on delirium care.
Delirium ; Education ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing ; Statistics as Topic

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants. Life-threatening RSV infection is often reported in young children and immunocompromised hosts. Since there is no report on ribavirin therapy for RSV pneumonia in pediatric cancer patients in Korea, we report one case of RSV pneumonia that developed in an infant with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Despite administration of oral ribavirin and intravenous immunoglobulin, the patient's respiratory distress worsened and admission to an intensive care unit was necessary. Chest x-ray showed multifocal consolidation, pneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum. Treatment with aerosolized ribavirin led to significant clinical improvement. The role of aerosolized ribavirin is still controversial, but it might have a therapeutic potential for severe RSV pneumonia in children with leukemia.
Child ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Immunoglobulins ; Infant ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Leukemia ; Mediastinal Emphysema ; Pneumonia ; Pneumothorax ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Ribavirin ; Thorax

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that a safety margin may affect local tumor recurrence (LTR) in subsegmental chemoembolization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 101 patients with 128 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) nodules (1-3 cm in size and < or = 3 in number), cone-beam CT-assisted subsegmental lipiodol chemoembolization was performed. Immediately thereafter, a non-contrast thin-section CT image was obtained to evaluate the presence or absence of intra-tumoral lipiodol uptake defect and safety margin. The effect of lipiodol uptake defect and safety margin on LTR was evaluated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to indentify determinant factors of LTR. RESULTS: Of the 128 HCC nodules in 101 patients, 49 (38.3%) nodules in 40 patients showed LTR during follow-up period (median, 34.1 months). Cumulative 1- and 2-year LTR rates of nodules with lipiodol uptake defect (n = 27) and those without defect (n = 101) were 58.1% vs. 10.1% and 72.1% vs. 19.5%, respectively (p < 0.001). Among the 101 nodules without a defect, the 1- and 2-year cumulative LTR rates for nodules with complete safety margin (n = 52) and those with incomplete safety margin (n = 49) were 9.8% vs. 12.8% and 18.9% vs. 19.0% (p = 0.912). In multivariate analyses, ascites (p = 0.035), indistinct tumor margin on cone-beam CT (p = 0.039), heterogeneous lipiodol uptake (p = 0.023), and intra-tumoral lipiodol uptake defect (p < 0.001) were determinant factors of higher LTR. CONCLUSION: In lipiodol chemoembolization, the safety margin in completely lipiodolized nodule without defect will not affect LTR in small nodular HCCs.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/radiography/*therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Ethiodized Oil/*administration & dosage ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/radiography/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/radiography

BACKGROUND: The testes are one of the most common extramedullary sites of relapse in boys with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL). The reported incidence of isolated testicular relapse varies from 3 to 40%. If these patients are treated exclusively with testicular irradialion, a systemic relapse occurs within a few months. Recently, the use of intensive chemotherapy and testicular irradiation improved the survival rate for boys with testicular leukemia. So, we performed this study to identify clinical manifestations, disease free survival and prognostic factors of testicular leukemia in children. METHODS: We reviewed 33 patients of testicular leukemia among total 410 boys with ALL diagnosed at the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Children's Hospital from Jan. 1970 to Aug. 1996. Testicular leukemia was confirmed by testicular biopsy in all 33 patients. These patients were treated with combined local testicular irradiation(2,400~2,500 cGy/8~12fractions) and systemic chemotherapy. Two patients, in whom testicular relapse was diagnosed before 1979, unilateral orchiectomy of the involved site and testicular irradiation of the opposite site were performed. Probability estimates of disease free survival (DFS) were calculated by the method of Kaplan and Meier, and the relationship of prognostic factors to DFS was compared using the chi-square test in survival analysis. RESULTS: In 410 boys with ALL, testicular leukemia occurred in 33 patients(8%). Of 33 patients, 6 patients presented with testicular involvement at initial diagnosis, 16 patients had testicular relapse while still receiving chemotherapy and 11 patients had testicular relapse 3 to 57 months(median : 15 months) after cessation of chemotherapy. The median age of 33 patients was 7.4 yrs(9 months~18 yrs) and median WBC count 7,600/ L(2,700~270,000/L). All patients presented with painless testicular enlargement and testicular leukemia was confirmed by testicular biopsy. Among 33 patients, 2 had prior CNS relapse and 11 had concomitant bone marrow and/or CNS relapse. Twenty nine patients were treated with combined local testicular irradiation and systemic chemotherapy. Eleven had second relapse(6 bone marrow, 3 CNS, 2 opposite testis). Seventeen have been followed until now: 6 patients on chemotherapy and 11 patients(37.9%) in complete remission for 48.5+/-22.3 months(19~86 months). The 3 year DFS for 29 patients was 55.3%+/-10.1%. The following prognostic factors showed no significant association with DFS in testicular relapse : age and WBC count at initial diagnosis, age at testicular relapse, and concomitant relapse. Whether testicular relapse occurred on initial therapy or off initial therapy has prognostic value in predicting DFS. The 3 year DFS for boys with testicular relapse on and off initial therapy were 40.0%+/-12.9% and 78.8%+/-13.4%, respectively(P: 0.046). CONCLUSION: With the use of chemotherapy and testicular irradiation, prolonged second re mission can be achieved in many patients with testicular leukemia. The patients with testicular relapse off initial therapy fared significantly better than patients on therapy. So, to improve the DFS for boys with testicular leukemia, a better understanding of its biology and prognostic factors is needed.
Biology ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukemia ; Missions and Missionaries ; Orchiectomy ; Pediatrics ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Recurrence ; Seoul ; Survival Rate ; Testis